By TIFFANY RAZZANO
He didn't hesitate to drive into the city, pick them up and bring them back to Rockville
Centre.
When another good friend missed a flight at Newark Airport, again, Durkin didn't think twice about helping out. He hopped into his car and drove to New Jersey, this time taking his friend all the way to Philadelphia to catch another flight.
These are just some of the many stories that illustrate how loyal Durkin, who died June 30 of a heart attack at age 34, was to his friends and family, said his father, Michael E. Durkin.
"He was loyal to his friends and to the people he cared about," his father said. "He was compassionate and he cared. He cared about other people. He talked about how he would have his friends' backs and he knew his friends would cover his back."
Scott Durkin grew up in Rockville Centre, but graduated from Oceanside High School in 1991. He was an avid sports fan, playing soccer in the Rockville Centre Soccer League and roller hockey in several leagues in Nassau County.
At the Rockville Centre Recreation Center, Durkin was able to combine his love for sports, particularly roller hockey, with his passion for working with children. As a teenager he began volunteering with the roller hockey program at the center. This turned into a part-time job by the time he had graduated from high school, and eventually a full-time job.
Durkin's role at the center steadily expanded. He also taught swimming, and worked with a number of other sports programs, including softball. "He definitely took a lot of pride in what he did as far as work and his job at the Rec Center," said his brother, Michael J. Durkin. "He was on call. If they needed something, he was there."
"He had a good rapport with young kids," said Anthony Brunetta, superintendent of the village's Parks and Recreation Department. "He made friends with young kids who looked up to him. He was an all-around nice young man."
"I was very close to him," said Joe Nemeth, deputy superintendent of Parks and Recreation. "He kind of grew up in front of me. He was very enthusiastic around kids. He was very generous with his time and money. He used to spend a lot on the kids, trying to make it fun for them. He used to make up riddles with the kids to keep them occupied on the bus. He had a good heart. He definitely had a good heart."
Durkin touched the lives of many children in the village during his time at the Rec Center. This was obvious at his funeral, where hundreds of former students came to pay their respects, his father said. "There were things said [at the funeral] that really validated his life," his father said. "It made his life important, and not just the big, big things he did, but even the little things he did for other people. He went out of his way. He cared for people so much."
He added, "Scott was always like a big brother to a lot of kids. He was kind of a guardian angel. He loved to play that role. He loved to watch out for them."
Though Durkin left his position at the Rec Center about a year and a half ago to become a personal assistant for his close friends the Hasday family of Rockville Centre, sports remained a passion for him. He loved watching the Yankees and the Rangers, a passion he inherited from his mother, Kathleen Durkin, who died in 2006.
Durkin was a huge fan of NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr., and every year he would stay with his brother in Florida so he could go to the Daytona 500. He also continued to play roller hockey, participating in a league at Hot Skates in Lynbrook.
Durkin excelled in math, earning an associate's degree from Nassau Community College, and he was also very interested in technology. "He loved technical things," said his father. "He loved computers and was always fixing things."
He also loved to read, his father said. He loved mysteries and thrillers, especially books by John Grisham, as well as the Harry Potter series.
Durkin's father, as well as several of his close childhood friends, are currently planning an annual golf tournament and fund-raiser in Scott's name. "He was such a good guy," said his father. "I don't think he was ever meant to make a lot of money in this world, but he was wealthy in so many other ways because of his values. ... He was one of the good guys."
Comments about this story? TRazzano@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 221.
